Minnesota Sheriff, Firefighter Safely Stop Runaway School Bus
Deputy Eric Diekmann and local firefighter Greg Meyer stop the bus after the bus driver reportedly suffers a medical emergency that causes him to drive on the wrong side of the highway.
Sadiah Thompson・Assistant Editor
July 19, 2019
A Minnesota deputy and firefighter stopped a school bus after the bus driver reportedly suffered a medical emergency that caused him to drive on the wrong side of the highway. Photo courtesy Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office.
2 min to read
A Minnesota deputy and firefighter stopped a school bus after the bus driver reportedly suffered a medical emergency that caused him to drive on the wrong side of the highway. Photo courtesy Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office.
GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — A sheriff and a local firefighter here were able to safely stop a runaway school bus on Wednesday after the bus driver apparently suffered a medical emergency while driving down the highway.
Seventy-year-old Brian Fuller, a driver for Renville County West Public Schools - ISD 2890, was reportedly crashing into vehicles in Granite Falls and driving on the wrong side of the road on Highway 212, according to a news release from the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities said they had received several 911 calls about the bus, which was traveling in the wrong lane at about 40 miles per hour. Apparently no students were on board the bus at the time, and no one was injured.
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Authorities said that Deputy Eric Diekmann of Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office was able to drive in front of the bus with his lights and siren on to alert oncoming motorists. Diekmann then used the rear of his squad car to bump the bus, using his brakes slow it down. Once the vehicle was almost stopped, Greg Meyer, a local firefighter, then got out of his personal vehicle, opened the door of the bus, and was able to stop the bus and put it in park, according to the Sheriff's Office. Meyer, who had witnessed the initial crash involving the school bus, also drove in front of the bus with his flashers on, attempting to warn motorists.
“His selfless actions made this very dangerous situation come to an end with nobody getting injured,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
Fuller was transported to the hospital, but details about his condition have not yet been released, according to authorities.
View dash cam video of the incident, posted on the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, below.
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